Authentic Homemade Tempura Taught by a Tempura Chef

Trim off the stem and tip of the eggplant, and since the skin is tough, score it lengthwise. Shape it as if cutting it down to a quarter.

Peel the sweet potato (or leave the skin on) and cut it, and cut the kabocha squash into bite-sized pieces. Halve the bell pepper and remove the seeds, and trim only the stems from the shiso leaves.

Make a guiding cut in the chicken tender with a knife and pull out the tendon. Butterfly it, flatten it by pounding with the back of the knife, cut it in half, and wrap it with a shiso leaf.

Scrape off the fine legs on the underside of the shrimp with your thumb, then peel off the shell. Cut into the back and scoop out the vein.

Line up the tips of the shrimp tails and trim them, then cut off the pointed tip (the tail spike) where water collects. Scrape the tail clean with a knife from both sides, and make 4-5 shallow cuts along the belly side.

Rinse the shrimp and pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels. Place them on a cutting board back side up and press down until you hear a popping sound, straightening them out.

Beat 1 egg into 400cc of cold water to make egg water. Pour the egg water into a bowl, add flour to taste, and mix roughly. Keep it chilled in the refrigerator until just before frying.

Heat a blend of rice oil and sesame oil in a frying pan to 180°C. Lightly dust the sweet potato and kabocha squash with flour, coat them in batter, and gently lower them into the oil.

Fry while keeping the oil temperature steady. Frequently skim off the bits of batter that float to the surface. Don't overcrowd the pan; fry a little at a time.

Dust the eggplant with flour, coat it in batter, and lower it into the oil skin side first. Fry while shaking the batter to make it bloom, flipping it over partway through.

When it floats to the surface and the bubbles get fine, that's the sign it's cooked through. Sink it once at the end to drive out the water, finish it crisp, and lift it out. Use less dusting flour for the bell pepper, and for the shiso leaves dust and batter only the back side, frying just one side.

For the shiso-wrapped chicken tenders, put them in shiso side down so the leaf doesn't come off. Fry the whiting and squid as well, shaking to make the batter bloom. Finally, dust the shrimp with flour, coat them in batter, and fry them as if letting them swim through the oil. If you like, drizzle batter over the top to make it bloom, and lift them out once the bubbles get fine.

Arrange on a plate and enjoy with tentsuyu with plenty of grated daikon added, or with salt.